Photinia x fraseri 'Red Robin'

Photinia x fraseri Dress. Rosaceae 'Red Robin' Evergreen shrub. Distribution: Himalaya to Japan, south to India and Thailand. Named for John Fraser (1750-1811) Scot who had a plant nursery in Chelsea and made several plant collecting trips to North America. From Newfoundland to the Carolinas. Poisonous. Leaves contain cyanogenic glycosides, stored in vacuoles in the cell. When chewed are converted to hydrogen cyanide by enzymes in the cell, so are exceedingly poisonous to animals, particularly ruminants. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.